Overall Conclusion

The Nikon Coolpix S800c is one of only two Android-based cameras on the market, with the other being the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Camera. The S800c takes the 'guts' of Nikon's Coolpix S6300 compact ultra zoom and adds a dual-core processor, 3.5' OLED display, 1.7 GB of memory and the Android 2.3 operating system. These additions make the S800 about $170 more than its more traditional counterpart. The one feature both the S6300 and S800c share is their F3.2-5.8, 10X optical zoom, which is equivalent to 25 - 250 mm. The lens is paired with Nikon's lens-based Vibration Reduction (image stabilization) system, which reduces the risk of blurry photos. Flip to the back of this stylish camera and you'll find a large 3.5in touchscreen OLED display with 819,000 pixels, along with the three traditional Android buttons. The display is bright and colorful, with a wide viewing angle. Outdoor visibility is just okay, and I had a hard time seeing my subjects in low light.

The only other buttons on the camera are for power and shutter release, which means that you'll be using that touchscreen for everything else. That includes focusing and shutter release in addition to menu navigation and image playback, by the way. One thing I wish the camera had is haptic feedback, which makes typing and pressing buttons on the touchscreen a little bit easier (at least for me).

The big story on the Coolpix S800c is Android. The camera runs version 2.3 (Gingerbread), which is pretty stale these days, especially compared to the Galaxy Camera, which runs version 4.1 (Jelly Bean). While this shouldn't affect most users, the newer versions of Android are much faster, and support more apps (such as Google's Chrome browser). The shooting and playback modes on the camera are essentially apps, with the former loaded automatically when the camera is turned on. While I wouldn't call the S800c a no-frills camera, menu options are light, and those expecting manual controls will be disappointed. The playback app seemed to be quite buggy, often display photos out of order, or not showing them at all. If you want to use another camera app or something like Instagram, go for it (that's sort of the point of having an Android phone) - just be aware that the highest resolution you can use outside of the Nikon camera app is 8 Megapixels.

Some apps will be able to see the photos you've taken, while others (like Adobe Photoshop Express) will not. The S800c has several wireless features built in, including Wi-Fi, a GPS, and Bluetooth. Since Wi-Fi is the main way in which the S800c can share photos, I was disappointed at how poorly implemented this feature is. Reception is truly awful, and I experienced a handful of connection problems at various times. You can use the Wi-Fi to tether to a mobile device (smartphone or tablet), from where you can send photos on to other destinations. Unlike the Wi-Fi system, the camera's GPS system worked flawlessly, and provided accurate locations for both photos and Google Maps. Do note that the camera doesn't display the GPS info when you're viewing photos, so you'll have to find something else to do that.

The Coolpix S800c is a point-and-shoot camera, with white balance being the only manual control. There's an Easy Auto mode which will select a scene mode for you, plus regular Auto, scene, and special effect modes. Two of the notable scene modes includes HDR (two-shot), which reduces highlight clipping, and Easy Panorama, which lets you 'sweep' your way to 180 or 360 degree images (of mediocre quality). There's also a Full HD movie mode, which records video at 1080/30p with stereo sound and use of the optical zoom and image stabilizer. Low and high frame rate options are also available. As with still shooting, there are no manual controls in movie mode, unless a wind filter counts. Also, since there's no dedicated movie recording button on the camera, you'll have to enter movie mode each and every time you want to record a clip.

Camera performance is good in most respects, with two notable exceptions. First, startup times. The camera takes 1.8 seconds to extend its lens and prepare for shooting. If the camera's been off for a while, then you'll have to wait for an additional 30 seconds for Android to boot up before the S800c is fully functional. You can fire off a few photos during this time, but no settings can be adjusted, and playback mode is not available. Once Android is ready, the camera will reward you with above average AF performance, minimal shutter lag, and brief shot-to-shot delays. Full resolution continuous shooting ranges from 7.5 frames/second (for three shots) in high speed mode to 1.6 frames/second (until your memory card fills up) at low speed. Here comes the other big performance problem: battery life. The Coolpix S800c is CIPA rated for 140 shots per charge, which is about as bad as you'll find. But that's with Wi-Fi and the GPS off, and just taking pictures. If you spend a lot of time playing in Android, you can easily drain the battery in an hour. The S800c charges its battery internally, which takes several hours and doesn't let you use the camera while it's plugged in.

Photo quality is just okay. Exposure is generally accurate, though like most compacts, the S800c will clip highlights at times. Colors were nice and vivid, except in our studio, where everything had a brownish cast. Subjects were soft and fuzzy, with some fine details smudged away by noise reduction. You can crank the ISO up to around 400 and still make decent-sized prints, though ISO 800 is best for small prints only. Whether there's redeye in your photos depends on whether the camera's auto removal system catches it. If it does, you should have good results. If it doesn't, look out. Purple fringing levels were low.

The Nikon Coolpix S800c was the first Android-powered camera (barely squaking to market before Samsung's Galaxy Camera) and perhaps gives us a peek at what cameras will look like in the future. Sharing and editing photos is easier than on almost any camera, save for Samsung's 4G/3G-equipped Galaxy Camera (which also sports a more modern version of Android and a larger display). That said, Nikon has quite a bit of work to do before I can recommend this Coolpix. Photo quality, battery life, and Wi-Fi reception are all things that need significant improvements. I'd also add in a dedicated movie recording button and allow the included battery charger to power the camera. While the Coolpix S800c makes a fun 'extra camera', I wouldn't want it as my everyday shooter. I haven't used the Samsung equivalent so I can't comment on how well it compares (aside from specs), but I'd recommend sticking with a traditional compact ultra zoom instead of the S800c. If you like the ease of photo sharing offered by the S800c, you might want to look at a 'regular', Wi-Fi equipped camera instead.

Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category.Click here to learn about the changes to our scoring system and what these numbers mean.

Nikon Coolpix S800c

Category: Compact Camera

Build quality

Ergonomics & handling

Features

Exposure and focus accuracy

Image quality (raw)

Image quality (jpeg)

Flash performance

Low light / high ISO performance

Optics

Performance (speed)

Movie / video mode

Connectivity

Value

PoorExcellent

Conclusion

The Nikon S800c is an interesting hybrid of connected mobile device and traditional compact camera. The end result is a capable, but far from inspiring product which offers a lot of potential but not without some frustrations. Battery life is very poor, responsiveness isn't what we've come to expect (Android's 30 second startup time doesn't help) and image quality is only so-so.

Good for

The connected photographer will love having almost all of the functionality of a modern smartphone, attached to a much better lens and sensor.

Not so good for

Anything where you need endurance or critical image quality. The connectivity options are great, but overall, the sluggish S800c feels like a compromise.

67%

Overall score

About Jeff Keller

Jeff Keller is the Founder and Publisher of the Digital Camera Resource Page. When it was created in 1997, DCResource was the first digital camera news and review site on the Internet. Jeff's love of gadgetry introduced him to digital cameras in the mid-90's, from which his passion for photography developed. Until recently, Jeff ran DCResource from his home in Oakland, CA, and will be joining the dpreview team full-time in spring 2013.

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